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March 19th Update From The Democratic Party Chair PDF Print E-mail
Elections, Elected Officials, Political Parties
Written by Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Martha Laning   
Saturday, 19 March 2016 12:50

martha-laningMADISON - Welcome to the weekly installment of my Chair Update!

This week I will discuss the field trip the DPW staff took to Green Bay to plan for the State Convention, a big endorsement that Russ Feingold received, as well as the President’s nominee for the Supreme Court of the United States.

In addition, I will provide information on the WisDems Messaging Team our Communications department launched, the very sad passing of Representative Tamara Grigsby, and the Democratic Weekly Radio Address delivered by Representative Lisa Subeck.

Lastly, I will talk about the State Senate session that concluded, the request for volunteers to help with poll watching and a number of other voting issues that you should be aware of.

brown-county-demsGreen Bay Trip for State Convention

The DPW headed up to Green Bay this past Monday, joining forces with the Brown County Democrats, to start getting ready for our State Convention in June and to Celebrate Pi Day. This was a great opportunity for many of our new staff members to meet community activists, ensure we have a highly successful convention, and enjoy a slice or two, (or 3 or 4) of pie.

Supreme Court Nomination

President Obama nominated Merrick Garland, the Chief Judge of the DC Circuit, to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court of the United States. Garland has more federal experience then any Supreme Court nominee ever put forward and when first confirmed for a judgeship in 1997, he was confirmed with the support of 30 senators, 7 of who are still in the senate. Unfortunately, Ron Johnson continues to play obstructionist games and refuses to support a hearing and vote for Judge Garland. President Obama has fulfilled his constitutional duty and put forward a Supreme Court nominee, now it is time for Ron Johnson to do his job and allow for a hearing and vote.

Messaging Team Launch

I am so happy to announce we are launching our WisDems messaging team. This will be run through our communications department and will help spread our Democratic message to every corner of Wisconsin. This includes:

  • Message Monday, where we will send you messaging that is driving the week and materials to help promote online
  • Rapid Response, which will be a mid-week update on what we expect the rest of the week to look like and more materials for circulation, and lastly
  • Tweeters Team, which will consist of promoting our Party’s tweets, and tweets you can put out yourself, based on what content is driving the day.

We need you to sign up for any, but preferably all, of the three teams listed below to help us get our message out and win in November.

  • To sign up for the Message Monday Team click here.
  • To sign up for the Rapid Response Team click here.
  • To sign up for the WisDems Tweeters Team click here.

Mourning the Loss of Representative Tamara Grigsby

This week we lost Representative Tamara Grigsby at the young age of 41. Tamara always put her constituents first and fought for the betterment of marginalized communities. She established the state Department of Children and Families to help get resources to those struggling the most. Anyone you asked would tell you Tamara was a gifted public servant, the sort that others looked to as a model example of what it means to serve the people. We will remember Tamara as a champion of fairness and equality, and we will forever be grateful for her service.

Legislative Session

Representative Lisa Subeck gave the Democratic Weekly Radio address, emphasizing Democrats commitment to making college affordable and contrasting our beliefs to the Republicans’ inability to pass meaningful college affordability legislation. This session the Republicans prioritized legislation to ensure their reelection and left over one million Wisconsinites paying unreasonably high interest rates on their student debt because the Republicans refuse to let people renegotiate their student loans the way you can with a mortgage. While Republicans are wishing the issue of college debt would solve itself, Democrats put forward a comprehensive plan called Higher Ed, Lower Debt bill that takes the issue head on. We need our legislators looking for solutions to help Wisconsinites get ahead. 

You can listen to the address here

While we were all hoping for a productive Senate Session that addressed the important issues facing Wisconsinites, GOP leaders cut the session short and are now adjourned for the year. Crucial pieces of legislation were left on the table, like college affordability and addressing sanctuary cities. What a disappointing session this was too. The Republicans, a group of lawmakers who put their own priorities ahead of the Wisconsinites they are supposed to serve, passing bill after bill that does nothing to address the issues that are hurting families in Wisconsin. We have a real opportunity this November to reverse the tide of this in-action. This is why it is so important that we start spreading our great Democratic message about college affordability, better wages, equal pay for equal work, increased workers rights, better environmental protections, strengthening social security and being more inclusive right now

Veterans Cards added to Acceptable Photo IDs

With Election Day coming up in less then 3 weeks, veterans received some good news as they can now use their veteran cards as photo identification at the polls. It is shocking the Republicans wouldn’t have included the Veteran ID cards from the beginning because Wisconsinites know that all people deserve the right to vote, especially those who defended our country.

VOTE Early!
Early voting starts this Monday and it is important that we all get to the polls. Every election is important, but here in Wisconsin we know better than most just how wrong things can go when we elect the wrong people. If we want to win and put Wisconsin back on the right path, we must be engaged. We must tell more friends and family to vote, we must educate people to inspire them to vote, we must share more so our friends and neighbors know what is at stake. Everything we want for our future begins to come front and center this Monday.

If you need information on how to vote early click here, and for general voting information click here

Poll Watchers Needed
The DPW is joining the effort to expand the number of poll watchers so we can collect data on how the state’s new photo ID law effects the election. This information will help us address problems early, and develop strategies and tactics to ensure every eligible person in Wisconsin who wants to vote in November 2016 is able to do so. We need your help to make this program successful, so please sign up and volunteer to be a poll observer on April 5th!

Sign up here!

 
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